MLB Network rated Andrew McCutchen as the #1 Center Fielder right now on Thursday’s countdown. Here is what the analysts had to say:

Greg Amsinger: “It’s time to find out the number one center fielder in major league baseball is right now and he resides in Pittsburgh. The Pirates Andrew McCutchen is #1. He’s just 24-years-old. In 2010 in 154 games, he hit .286, 16 home runs, 56 RBI and scored 94 runs for a team that didn’t win all that much, 33 stolen bases. Now he did have five errors, tied for second most (Matt Kemp of the Dodgers). But was fifth in the National League in the stolen base department. Eight outfield assists, third best in the National League. Andrew McCutchen right now, is he the number one center fielder in major league baseball?”

Billy Ripken: “When you start looking at the overall package. The year before he was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. That makes you stand up and take notice. All those other categories you talked about in, you can put him in with the league leaders with his center fielders in those categories. So, when you look at a complete player and shall we say, ‘Mr. Excitement’. I think what people overlook was the 16 bombs. I mean he ran into some balls and hit some balls of the ballpark. He’s got a complete package.”

Amsinger: “So he’s number one right now?”

Ripken: “Okay, Right now he is.”

Dan Pleasac: “I would say right now there are a lot of teams, Greg, that would like to pencil his name in in center field. One of the things, he’s another guy if you look at his body type, he’ll surprise you with some pop in his bat. You would think he’s going to get bigger, he’s going to get stronger. What I really like about him, he plays with a lot of energy. He makes his team better. But I’ll tell you what he’s going to need: he’s going to need some help. The Pirates are going to have to do a much better job surrounding some talent on the corners to take a little bit of that pressure off because right now, he’s a mark man in that Pirate lineup. He’s a good player and I think right now if you were looking at the skill set; ‘Can he run? Yes.’ Can he hit? He’s going to hit for some power.’ He’s not a .300 hitter, but pretty darn close to it. I think when you look at all the things combined, right now, he might be the best.”

Amsinger: “You know what I like about him? He’s got this swagger of a winning player on a losing team. [Showed video of McCutchen's walk-off home run] That is swagger, that is flash, that is excitement and he’s playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That’s a beautiful story.”

Ripken: “You like to see a player have a chance at redemption and when you miss play a ball like that [referring to the video of McCutchen's error prior to the walk-off home run] you certainly hope you get an opportunity to come up and do damage. He didn’t nod his head. He didn’t feel down on himself. He went up to home plate and hit a ball out of the ballpark.

Pleasac: “Pirate fans really haven’t had a lot to get happy about the last 15 or 20 years. It’s been a long streak of losing for the Pirates but this is one guy, if you’re a fan of the Pirates, or you live in the Pittsburgh area, he’s worth going out to see play. He plays with a lot of energy, he plays with a lot of passion, and you would hope that if he gets a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, he’s going to hit some balls out of the ballpark. Has a chance to be one of those franchise type players for the Pirates.”